Little Kids Reenact the American Revolution

In celebration of Independence Day I thought I would share this unique recreation of the American Revolution.

Thanks To Keith at BagOfNothing

Oldest US postal worker retires in Calif. at 95

It wasn’t snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night that stopped Chester Arthur Reed from his appointed round. The mail handler just felt it was time to call it quits at age 95.

The fork lift operator retired Wednesday as the nation’s oldest postal worker, ending a career without taking a single sick day. It’s a feat he attributes to a healthy diet of watermelon, alkaline water and an onion sandwich with mayo every day.

“If everyone in the nation ate watermelons, they’d get rid of all the doctors,” Reed said.

Despite being partially deaf and walking with a stoop, Reed has worked for more years than many of his co-workers have been alive and has accrued 3,856 hours — nearly two years — of sick leave for not missing a shift in 37 years.

Reed has been a U.S. Postal Service mail handler and forklift operator since he was hired in 1973, making $4 an hour. He hit the $25-an-hour ceiling about 10 years ago.

Reed said he likes his job because “one, it’s a steady income and, two, they don’t hassle you.” But he also knows when to leave, reasoning: “The Bible says there’s a time for everything. Well, it’s time to retire, and that’s it.”

Reed worked the 2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift and logged in more than 12 hours some days, his 55-year-old manager Mary Brunkhorst said. “We’d have to force him to go home, and he’d say there’s still work to do. It takes a special person to work to age 95. Our generation would not do that.”

Click the image to read the full article.

Thanks To Keith at BagOfNothing

Accident Sketch

You’ve been involved in an accident. You have many questions to answer and forms to fill in — from the police, insurance companies, and perhaps even lawyers and courts. And almost every one of those forms requires you to draw a diagram of what happened. AccidentSketch.com provides you with the tools to draw the sequence of events — and you only have to drag and drop road and vehicle icons onto a screen, fill in some details, then print out the accident report with your sketch. All for free.

Click the image to learn more.

Thanks To Keith at BagOfNothing

Big Picture: Afghanistan, June, 2010

This month has been the deadliest month yet for foreign troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. Department of Defense now reports that one hundred coalition troops were killed this month. The death toll for 2010 to date now stands at 320. With soldiers and equipment still arriving in the country, peak troop strength is anticipated to reach 150,000 by August. And, with the removal of General Stanley McChrystal from command of Afghanistan following an embarrassing article in Rolling Stone magazine, a shift in leadership is underway with General David Petraeus attending confirmation hearings now. Efforts are now being made ot both weaken the Taliban and pressure them to reconcile with the Afghan government, but progress is slow, and many earlier gains are becoming unstable once more. Collected here are images of the country and conflict over the past month, part of an ongoing monthly series on Afghanistan. (42 photos total)

Click the image to see the full collection. Warning: Some images are graphic.

Big Picture: Glastonbury Festival 2010

Last weekend in Glastonbury, England, on a site covering 1,000 acres, the 40th annual Glastonbury Festival was held at Worthy Farm. Started by a dairy farmer, Michael Evis in 1970 it has grown into the largest music festival in Europe. This year's headline acts on the main stage included Muse, Gorillaz and Stevie Wonder. Thousands of attendees were treated to a sunny weekend in the country with plenty to see, hear and experience. Collected here are 40 images from Glastonbury 2010 for its 40th anniversary. (40 photos total)

Click the image to see the full collection.

Today Is Mary's Birthday!

Today is Mary's Birthday. If you are a Twitterer, click on the image above to wish her a Happy Birthday. You can also leave a comment on her blog.

Big Picture: G20 Protests in Toronto

Last week, leaders of nations from both the G8 and G20 gathered in Ontario Canada, for meetings in in Huntsville and Toronto. Canadian authorities planning for the event spent an estimated $1 billion, mostly for security. Tens of thousands of protesters descended on Toronto, looking to have their voices heard on a broad range of issues, from indigenous rights to anti-capitalist ideals, to human and animal rights, and much more. Many peaceful marches took place throughout the weekend, but on Saturday, a small group of "black bloc" anarchists became violent, smashing storefronts and burning several police vehicles. Harsher tactics and more arrests by the 20,000 police officers deployed to Toronto soon followed, although many of those arrested were released from a temporary G20 detainment center soon after. (42 photos total)

Click the image to see the full collection.

Big Picture: Remembering the Korean War, 60 years ago

Friday, June 25th, it will have been sixty years since the beginning of the Korean War in 1950. After decades of Japanese occupation, Korea was divided in two by Allied Forces at the end of World War II, with the south administered by the U.S. and the north by Soviet Russia. Deep divisions built over several years, leading to skirmishes and finally an invasion by North Korean troops on June 25th, 1950. The United Nations sent troops and support from 21 countries to support South Korea, primarily from the United States and Britain. The war lasted for three years, with large advances and retreats on both sides, and many casualties. Hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers were killed. The two Koreas are technically still at war since hostilities ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty in 1953. Though it is often referred to as "The Forgotten War", I hope this collection of photographs helps us to remember the events of 1950-53, those involved, and the legacy that still remains, sixty years later. (48 photos total)

Click the image to see the full collection. Warning: Some images are graphic.